Beltmann

I suspect that you will love The Son--if you do, then follow it up with L'Enfant! I seem to be in the minority about Little Miss Sunshine. I liked it, and thought several sequences were laugh-out-loud funny, but overall it still felt like it was working overtime to affect smart comedy--its characters felt like characters, not people, and its sitcom routines felt recycled from every other warm-hearted, idiosyncratic

That's how I feel. At the time Nirvana meant a lot to me--I still remember what I was doing when I heard about Cobain's death--but these days my tastes have moved in other directions. That said, I definitely think the songs hold up reasonably well, even when separated from all the cultural baggage, and I'd much rather listen to Nevermind or Unplugged in New York than anything by Pearl Jam.

Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You and I Will Beat Your Ass I dig it.

Local band that features one of my former students on guitar and piano. He dropped by my classroom today after school to hand deliver a copy.

Yeah, he's best known for his animation innovations. While it incorporates some (pretty damn creepy) stop-motion, Little Otik still relies more on live-action than anything else I've seen by him. He also emphasizes the fable's psychological aspects, downplaying the horror for long stretches. I haven't seen his Faust, and didn't care for his version of Alice (but if you like surreal stuff you might dig it). There's also a collection of Svankmajer short films out on DVD that's worth checking out.

I'll save you a seat, Jordan.

I'm a little ambivalent towards Svankmajer, but I would recommend the moody comic rhythms of Little Otik to anyone who likes Lynch or City of Lost Children. Svankmajer updates an old Czech fable about the dark side of parental instinct: A childless couple carves a play infant out of a tree stump, but soon the

Huh... "Little Red Shoes" is one of my favorites on the album. Interesting how art works in personal ways.

I liked this movie. Some have described it as an Italian Mean Girls, but that's a stretch--this film is far more interested in political rather than social satire. The tone is more melancholic, too, especially in its sad, compassionate depiction of the father, who is envious of others' power and respect and feels made impotent by divisive Italian politics: "We're the victims in all this!" (Plus, the father is played by Sergio Castellitto, who I always enjoy seeing.)

I haven't seen it yet, but that's how the trailer made me feel.

I want the latest update about the rumor that prompted this thread.

At Risk had been sitting on my shelf for years, but for some reason I never got around to reading it until yesterday. The subject matter isn't typical Hoffman--it's a straight-forward drama about what happens to a family when their 11-year-old daughter contracts AIDS--but there's something vital about it, perhaps because it was published in 1988. I'm a Hoffman fan, and this one ranks pretty high among my favorites.

The Office was hilarious tonight.

Sven Nykvist, cinematographer, was born on December 3, 1922. He died on September 20, 2006, aged 83.

Watched this last night. I liked it--it has a good-natured tone, lots of good music, and some funny bits by Chappelle. (I think I most enjoyed Jill Scott's performance.)

Just when I thought it was played out...

If you're like me--and most of you are--you already own I Am Trying To Break Your Heart on DVD and have watched it countless times, much to the chagrin of your family, friends, and neighbors. But if you still need to see it, Sundance has scheduled it several times during October.

Good to hear from ya, ikol.

The Ropes?

Good stuff.

I didn't like either of those, but I love Casualties of War. I'm probably alone in this, but I think that might be the best Vietnam movie of all.

Apparently, I am now old. Yesterday I made an allusion to Back to the Future, and none of the high schoolers caught it. Even worse, after I explained, it became evident that none of them had even heard of the movie. I can't imagine life without Marty McFly being a central point of reference.